What does a hedgehog eat: what to feed at home and how to do it right, the best diet

Exotic animals are becoming more popular every year. People who want to get a hedgehog should know how to properly care for such a pet. At the same time, questions often arise: what exactly does a hedgehog eat, how to feed it at home and how to do it correctly. It should be borne in mind that a balanced diet directly affects the he alth and well-being of the animal. It also affects his lifespan.

Natural hedgehog food

Despite their cute appearance, hedgehogs are considered real predators. Under natural conditions, they do not eat fruits and berries, but prefer animal food, which contains a lot of protein. The most preferred foods for hedgehogs include the following:

1. Beetles - hedgehogs often feed on bark beetles, ground beetles, trilobites. In summer cottages, animals are looking for May beetles.
2. Earwigs - these insects live everywhere. They are found in forests, meadows and mountainous areas. Often, earwigs settle near human habitation. They are easy and desirable prey for hedgehogs.
3. Caterpillars - animals often eat butterfly larvae and moths. They move slowly, making them easy to catch.
4. Earthworms - found in large numbers in the forest and are very accessible. To get a worm, a hedgehog only needs to dig up the ground a little.
5. Millipedes - live mainly in deciduous and mixed forests. They live under rocks, fallen leaves, near tree roots and are often food for hedgehogs.

At the same time, hedgehogs do not like plant food too much. They eat fruits, berries and mushrooms only when there is no other food available. In summer cottages, animals actively absorb food waste.

What to feed your pet

When compiling a diet for domestic hedgehogs, you need to take into account a number of features and nuances.

Meat products

Feeding hedgehogs requires lean meat. They can eat chicken, beef, veal. Also, the diet of animals may include turkey, horse meat, duck, rabbit meat. At the same time, pork is considered a rather fatty product, because it is difficult for hedgehogs to digest it.

It is recommended to give meat to hedgehogs every day. It is best to do it raw. It is he althier than boiled, and includes many trace elements. However, it is important to consider that parasites may be present in this product. Therefore, the hedgehog is given boiled meat from time to time. It needs to be cut into pieces and put in a bowl.

Many animals prefer minced meat. It is convenient to mix with plant foods. It is also permissible to feed hedgehogs with offal.They can be given tongue, liver, heart, stomachs. Preference should be given to boiled offal, since heat treatment has a disinfecting effect.

Expert opinionZarechny Maxim ValerievichAgronomist with 12 years of experience. Our best gardening expert.Ask a QuestionUnder natural conditions, animals often destroy bird nests in order to get eggs. When keeping hedgehogs at home, they can be fed chicken or quail eggs. This product can be given raw and boiled.

Fish

Under natural conditions, the hedgehog does not eat fish because it cannot catch it. However, a small amount of this product can still be given to the animal. In this case, it is worth giving preference to sea and river fish of low-fat varieties. Mackerel is considered the best option. You can also use bream, pollock, hake, perch.

First of all, the fish needs to be boiled and cleaned of bones. It is not recommended to give a s alty or rotten product to hedgehogs. This may cause poisoning. Excess fish in the diet can cause beriberi or anemia

Vegetables and fruits

These foods can be given to your hedgehog every day. They are considered a source of fiber and vitamins. From fruits, animals eat peaches, bananas, apples, pears with pleasure. They can also be given watermelons and melons. As for vegetables, the preferred options include zucchini, cucumbers, carrots. It is important to consider that there is a large amount of starch in the potato, so this product should be used in small quantities. It must first be cooked. Before giving fruits and vegetables to a hedgehog, they need to be cut.

From berries it is permissible to give the animal blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, cranberries. Before feeding a hedgehog with cherries, it is imperative to remove the bone from it. If the animal refuses fruits and vegetables, it can be given baby puree. It is also acceptable to cook it yourself.

Insects

This is the main food for hedgehogs that needs to be used every day. In summer, insects can be collected in natural conditions. It is best to do this in a field or forest. Beetles, snails, caterpillars, flies should be used as food for a hedgehog. It can also feed on earthworms, locusts, grasshoppers. It is important to consider that earthworms are high in calories. Therefore, it is permissible to use a maximum of 2-3 pieces for 1 meal.

You can also buy insects at the pet store. The following individuals are suitable for this:

1. Cockroaches - it is acceptable to use marble or Turkmen. Depending on the size, 5-10 pieces are used for 1 time.
2. Meal worms are a real delicacy for hedgehogs.
3. Domestic white crickets - depending on size, 10-15 pieces are allowed.
4. Zofobas - they should be given at intervals of 2 days. Depending on the size, 2-3 pieces are used.

Insects can be live or dried. On sale you can find special formulations that include dried insects. They can be mixed with minced meat or boiled eggs. This composition is a nutritious top dressing for a domestic hedgehog.

Purchased food

Self-preparation of food takes a lot of time and effort. Therefore, hedgehog owners often use ready-made formulations. The following options are possible:

1. Spike's Dinner Dry Food - This range is made in the UK. It includes feed wheat, whole corn, poultry meat. Also included are flaxseeds, chicken fat, whole corn. The food is sold in packs of 650 grams. The optimal dose for a hedgehog is 20 grams per day.
2. T-RexFood Pate is a wet food for pet hedgehogs. At 30% it consists of house crickets. Also included are chicken necks, carrots, apples, pumpkin. In addition, the product includes seaweed extract.
3. Complete dry food Menu - it includes cereals, offal, crustaceans, nuts. The product also includes meat, shellfish, vegetables, mealworms. The composition can be used as the basis of the diet of forest and pygmy hedgehogs.

Feeding recommendations

Feeding hedgehogs has certain characteristics. When compiling a diet, consider the following:

1. A hedgehog weighing 800 grams needs 150 grams of feed per day. Excess food will negatively affect the he alth of the animal. It is important to consider that a pregnant female is able to eat twice as much portions.
2. Most of the food should be in the evening and at night. The animal is a nocturnal animal. If you do not leave the hedgehog food, it will make noise.
3. Adult animal needs to be fed twice - in the morning and in the evening. It is advisable to do this at the same time.
4. Little hedgehogs can hardly stand hunger. Therefore, they need to offer food 2-3 times. A pregnant female should be fed 3-4 times a day.
5. Sharply changing the diet is prohibited. If it is necessary to correct the feeding style of the animal, it is recommended to do this gradually. At the same time, part of the new food in the diet should be increased little by little.

People who meet a hedgehog at the dacha try to give him milk to drink. It is not recommended to do this, since in nature animals do not drink this product. As a rule, animals come to summer cottages for mice. Therefore, the animal needs to be provided with access to water and various treats. It can be uns alted porridge, a boiled egg or a small amount of cottage cheese.

In order for a domestic hedgehog to develop normally and have good he alth, it needs to be properly fed. At the same time, it is important to think over his diet in detail or use ready-made purchased food.

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